Karen Bass reacts to Nithya Raman surpassing Spencer Pratt in LA mayoral race

Karen Bass touted her lead and took aim at rival Nithya Raman in a campaign statement posted last Sunday as the lefty councilwoman overtook former reality TV star Spencer Pratt for second place in the mayor’s race.

“We look forward to winning a contest against an opponent who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops, yet is MIA on saving Hollywood jobs and fighting back when ICE invades LA,” Alex Stack, a Bass campaign spokesperson, said in a statement referring to Raman, who voted against banning encampments near schools and opposed hiring more LAPD officers.

Bass’s statement came Sunday evening as Raman gained a slight lead, with 27.12% of the vote, unseating Pratt from second place.

Pratt now stands at 26.69% as more mail ballots — which tend to favor Democrats — remain to be counted, with 83% of the total vote reported.

While Bass already advanced to the November runoff, the race for second place remains unsettled, though political observers say Raman is likely to maintain her lead.

Under the Los Angeles Municipal Code, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters advance to the November ballot.

The Bass campaign, despite the race not yet being officially called in Raman’s favor, doubled down on its attacks against the Democratic Socialists of America-backed councilwoman and treated her as the likely challenger.

“Nithya Raman repeatedly votes to allow homeless encampments next to schools, day cares, senior centers and other sensitive areas. When asked about it, she has said, ‘I don’t think a kid’s going to be safer because a tent is 500 feet away from a school, you know, it’s like, whatever,’” the campaign said.

The statement then shifted from criticism of Raman to a list of accomplishments credited to Bass, pointing to declining homelessness and crime rates, increased police hiring, new housing construction, major streetlight repairs and the city’s first comprehensive infrastructure plan as evidence of the mayor’s leadership.

While the Bass campaign highlighted her sizable lead and “longstanding” record, strategists say Bass likely would have preferred to face Pratt rather than Raman in a runoff, viewing him as an easier opponent.

“It would have been easier for Karen Bass to sail into reelection, but it would have been in a campaign that wouldn’t have been as constructive or useful — a campaign about ideas, legitimate realistic policies and what the city needs to do going forward,” Democratic pollster Paul Mitchell told The California Post.

“We’re going to have a center-left versus more progressive-left election — DSA versus establishment Democrat. That will not be as easy for Karen Bass, but it might be healthier for the city,” he added.

Republican strategist Mike Madrid agreed.

“She’s been trying to elevate Pratt. That’s the best way that she can survive. Does Pratt making the runoff benefit him? Of course it benefits him because he’s the candidate, but it benefits Bass more, ” he told The Post

Madrid said Raman’s campaign has nearly “collapsed” and that Democratic voters will more easily “cave” to Bass than to a Trump-like figure in a city as liberal as Los Angeles, regardless of frustrations some voters may have with the mayor.

The Post has reached out to the Raman camp for comment.

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